The New Arrival
by Credential
Summary: When a girl is found Outside the Gates, stranded and wounded, the Shannon family is called up to take her in. How will everyone react with a new member in the house? Josh's POV.
1. Discovery

"Checkmate."

I hated Maddy's brains. I really did.

"What is this, like, the fifteenth time I've won against you?" Maddy taunted, grinning.

I shook my head. "Shut up." But a grin snuck onto my face against my will.

Just then, a little figure entered the room and bounded over to Maddy. I pushed myself from the table, snatching up the game pieces and started to put them away.

"Maddy, are Mommy and Daddy back yet?"

My sister shook her head, and Zoe looked down, frowning.

"They should be home soon," I told her, folding up the board. She seemed to brighten back up. "They said they were going to be late, anyways. Something about an attack a few miles away. A girl got into trouble with a dinosaur."

"Do they know who it was?" Maddy asked.

"No idea, I didn't hear much about it," I answered, shrugging. I got up from the table. "Put that away for me, Maddy."

"Do it yourself," she answered smartly. I stared at her for a second, and then shrugged. "I wasn't the one who got it out."

Maddy picked up the box. "You're putting it away next time."

"Deal."

Zoe laughed, and I started for my room. Before I could get there, the front door opened.

"Guess who's home?" came Dad's voice.

"A Sixer?" I guessed.

Dad just shot me a look as he took his jacket off, hanging it on the rack. "Yes, of course," he said flatly. Mom laughed and hung her jacket next to Dad's.

Maddy chimed in. "Did you find out what happened today? With the girl?"

"Well, we found her not too far from here," said Dad. "Turns out a dinosaur got to her, first. She was in pretty bad shape."

"We brought her to the hospital a couple of hours ago," Mom cut in. "She's got a broken arm and a few broken ribs, and she's bruised all around."

Maddy gasped. "Oh my god, Mom, is she alright?"

Mom nodded. "She'll be fine, honey, we've already got most of the wounds healed."

Zoe crinkled her nose. I ruffled her hair. "Who is it?"

My parents looked at each other. Uh oh.

"We don't exactly know," Dad answered. "No I.D. was found on her."

"So you don't know how she got here."

Dad sighed. "Not exactly."

"Okay… then how come Taylor let her in?"

"That's _Commander_ Taylor, Josh," Mom corrected.

"Why did _Commander_ Taylor let her in?" I was getting impatient.

"We didn't find any weapons on her," my dad answered back. "And there are no signs that point to any sort of suspicious activity."

"You mean, other than the fact that she was found OTG with no I.D., right?"

"Look," said Dad. "All I know is, Taylor doesn't think she's a threat. I was with him when we went to investigate. I trust Taylor's instinct."

I groaned. "They could be wrong."

"Okay, that's enough, you two," Mom said, walking over to me and lightly whacking my shoulder with the back of her hand. "It can wait until tomorrow."

Dad frowned, looking away, and then looked back at Mom. "Elisabeth, what about-"

"Oh yes, I forgot," Mom said. "Josh, Maddy, Zoe, she'll be staying with us until she can figure out what to do on her own."

"What?"

"_What?_"

"Yay!"

"Mom-"

"Calm down, guys!" Dad yelled over the sudden uproar of complaint.

"Mom, you can't let her stay here!" I said loudly, so that I would be heard over Maddy and Zoe. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Josh-"

"How long is she going to be here?" I demanded.

"Josh, calm down-"

"We don't even know who she is!" I complained, louder. "She was found Outside the Gates, battling a dinosaur. She's totally hurt, and now you're saying she has to stay with _us?_"

"_Shut up!_"

The house fell silent, and I looked in surprise at my dad, who was standing with a deep scowl on his face. My mom smiled over at him gratefully, and I almost started yelling again. But I waited and listened.

"We're the only family in Terra Nova that has room to take her in!" said Dad, voice low and upset. "Now, as far as we know, she could be some girl that got lost during one of the Pilgrimages. She wasn't found with any weapons on her."

"How do you know she's not still dangerous, though?" Maddy asked, troubled.

Silence.

"Maddy's right," I said. "She could still be dangerous. Even if she is banged up right now, she could be one of those spies for Mira that-"

"Josh-"

"- _happened to be in the wrong place_," I continued urgently, "and is just out to kill us! What?"

"I don't think she's like that," Mom said calmly. "Your father's right, there were no weapons found by her. We did a thorough investigation to check for dangerous objects. Nothing came up. There is no reason not to trust her right now."

Zoe piped up. "Mom, how come we have to take care of her?"

"Because she needs a home, dear."

I rolled my eyes. "Not our home."

"Josh, I don't see why you're so against this," said my dad. I just shrugged, turning from them and heading for my room. A sudden wave of anger hit me.

"I don't see why you're _not_ against this!" I yelled, looking back at them. "Aren't you and Mom always the ones whining about 'Ohhhh, they could be a spy!' or 'Ohhhh, no one Outside the Gates is allowed into Terra No-'"

"This is different!" Mom interrupted. I made a face and shoved the glass door open, slipping into my room.

"Josh!"

I slammed the door shut.


	2. Day Off

It wasn't fair at all, in my opinion.

I was sitting on my bed the next morning, still completely ticked off at the fact the girl had to stay at our place. For one thing, Mom and Dad already had jobs that they had to be doing. Taking in the 'new kid that we found in the wild who is wounded and doesn't have a place to stay, and, oh, not to mention has no identity as of yet, so we really don't know whether or not she's one of Mira's spies or just some innocent kid, but Taylor says that she doesn't look dangerous and everyone here trusts him, so we're just going to go with his word and not worry a thing about it' was not one of their jobs. I knew Maddy was just as suspicious as I was, but I didn't see her arguing. Then again, she wasn't the type to argue.

On the other hand, it could be true that the girl wasn't dangerous. I hadn't even seen her yet, or really heard anything about her, except for the things Mom and Dad had said last night. Maybe she wasn't that harmless.

But I wasn't going to fall into that trap. I'd find out sooner or later.

An hour later I was all washed up and in the living room eating breakfast. Mom and Dad were too busy getting ready for work to greet me. Either that, or the fact that they were still angry over my outburst last night. Whatever it was, I didn't really care. I was still angry with them for even offering to let the girl stay.

"Morning, Josh," Maddy greeted brightly as she flitted into the kitchen. Freaking angel.

I looked down at the fruit I was eating, replying with a short, "Morning."

She picked something from the fridge. "Feeling better?"

"No."

"I'm sure she won't be that bad," she said reassuringly, sitting down across from me. "You might like her, once you get to know her."

"Do you know what she's like?"

"It doesn't hurt to guess," Maddy said, pretending to be offended.

I shrugged, getting up and walking over to the trash to toss the rest of my breakfast away.

"Where are you going?" she asked as our parents entered the room.

"I have work, Maddy."

"Oh, wait, Josh," said Mom as she grabbed her jacket from the rack. "Boylan says you have the day off."

"What?"

"I would've thought he told you," she said, surprised. "He heard about how the girl was staying over here, and he wants you to have a break today."

I guess Boylan really wasn't that bad of a guy. "What for?"

"I don't know. He probably wants you to meet her or something." And then she was out the door. Dad just shot me a look that said '_Be good or else_', and followed after her.

I looked over at Maddy, but all she did was smile brightly at me. "Hey, at least you've got the day off now."

"Yeah, right. I'd rather be at work than meeting that girl," I said sullenly, shoving my hands in the pockets of my hoodie. The front door looked pretty inviting right about then. "Maybe Mom made a mistake, and I really _don't_ have the day off. That must be it."

My sister sighed. "Sure, Josh."

"Anyways, I'll see you later. I'm going to go see if Boylan really did mean that."

The sun glared into my eyes when I made it outside. The weather was awesome today, just like most days. Back in 2149, the sky was always this really miserable gray color because of all of the pollution that the earth had taken. It was always dark out, and you could hardly see for a mile in any direction. Sometimes, being outside in Terra Nova reminded me of just how much I loved living here. The only thing that was missing was Kara. It hurt me to think of how she was still living in a miserable place like 2149.

Then I remembered the fact that Boylan had managed to get the Sixers to promise him that she was going to make it here, and I grinned. That always brightened my day.

Sounds of laughter and conversation spun around me, and I was pulled away from my thoughts. I looked around, noticing I was at the bar. There were a lot of people there already, which explained why I heard so much talking.

I made my way inside, dodging people and looking for Boylan's familiar face. I found him a minute later, talking with someone I'd never seen before. Somehow, I didn't think it would be good if I interrupted them, so I stayed quiet.

"No sir, I haven't seen anything yet," the man said quietly, shaking his head and grabbing a glass of something, probably beer, and taking a drink out of it.

"Good," Boylan said, leaning over the table.

"Tom, what about the dinosaur?" The man asked. I had to strain to hear him.

Boylan said something I couldn't quite make out. I looked away, pretending like I hadn't heard them talking.

"Josh!" I jumped at the unexpectedly loud greeting and turned back around to Boylan. He was grinning at me. "Why are you here?"

"Did you tell my mom I had the day off?" I asked him.

Boylan nodded at me. "Indeed I did," he answered. "Heard about that little incident yesterday and how you were going to take her in. I decided I'd let you take off today, maybe go help your mom a little bit. You can go see the new girl while you're at it. After all, it's always good to make a good first impression, right?"

"Thanks," I said, a little exasperated that he had actually given me the day off because of that. "I'm fine, though. I mean, working here today. I really don't need a break."

He laughed, clapping me on the shoulder. "Come on, I'd have thought you'd be happy about this, boy. You can come back tomorrow."

I shrugged. "Okay. Thanks."

"No problem, mate."

I made my way back through the bar and back outside, grinding my teeth. So I actually did have to take the break. Mom was expecting me at the hospital, probably. I didn't have any options.

Luckily, I didn't have to walk to the hospital alone, because Skye appeared a few moments later beside me.

"Hey Josh," she said. "No work today?"

I pursed my lips. "Nope. Boylan gave me the day off so we can meet whoever the heck it is that was found yesterday."

"I heard about that. She's staying at your house, right?"

I looked over at her, raising my eyebrows. "How many people know about this?"

"It got around fast." She smiled happily at me. "Are you not happy about it?"

I let out a small laugh. "Are you kidding? I can't believe how lucky we are, our family being the only people to take her in! I just can't wait to meet her."

"You're lying."

My face fell. "No kidding. No one even knows who she is."

We were near the hospital. Skye bounded ahead of me, opening the door for me. "Josh, maybe you'll like her."

"Probably not. Thanks." I went inside and she followed. "I mean, there are already _five_ people in my family. I don't think we need another person."

Skye patted me on the back. "Don't worry about it," she said. I could tell she was trying to cheer me up. "Maybe they'll find out who she is and find a permanent unit for her."

We turned into the hallway where my mom worked. "I have a hard time believing that," I said.

"Josh, Skye, you're here." Mom appeared from within a room. "I just got done checking her vital signs. They're remarkably good, considering what she's been through. We've already had a few visitors. She's awake, if you want to see her."

"Hi, Mrs. Shannon," Skye greeted my mom politely, glancing past her and into the room.

I couldn't help frowning. "Do we have to, Mom?"

"Josh…" she started.

"Yeah, okay, never mind." I forced myself past her and went into the room.

When I saw the girl, I stopped in my tracks.


	3. Warm Greetings

_Oh my god. I am so sorry I haven't uploaded a single chapter for the past two months! I've been busy with school and procrastination and Christmas! I've been busy! But that's no excuse, wow, sorry! Well, I've got one up! I hope you like this one, however short it is!_  
><em>Thank you for all of the reviews cheering me to keep going! You're my inspiration, team, I love it! (:<em>

* * *

><p>She was surrounded by tubes and monitors. The atmosphere was filled with a kind of nervous feeling. I mean, every hospital had that feeling, but this room had it worst of all. Or maybe it was just me, considering I still didn't trust anything about her. But there was something about her that got my mind going, something familiar… and I couldn't quite place it.<p>

Not that that fact helped me feel any better about our situation. It was probably my imagination anyways.

"Mom?" I walked over to the girl hesitantly. When there was no answer from my mom, I turned around. She was nowhere in sight. She probably had someone else to tend to anyways.

I turned back to take another look at the girl, pausing at her bedside and staring at her for more than a few good seconds.

Skye's voice broke me out of my trance. "Josh? Are you feeling alright?"

I turned my head away from the girl. "There's just something really… yeah. Yeah, I'm fine Skye." I didn't want to tell her anything, fearing she might tell Taylor. They were so close, like father and daughter, that I thought anything she knew, Taylor would eventually know, too. That wouldn't be good.

Skye frowned suspiciously at me, but didn't say anything else. The monitor beeped, giving me an excuse to look back at the girl. Her light, cinnamon-colored hair was splayed on her pillow. She definitely looked like she had been beaten up, and badly. Mom had done a good job cleaning her up, because she had a bunch of stitches below one bruised eye.

The machine beeped again.

"Is something up, Josh?" Skye's voice sounded frantic, maybe a little bit desperate.

I shot her my best _'Are you kidding?' _grin. "No, I'm just wondering why a girl like her would be in the wilderness. The next Pilgrimage doesn't come for a while, right?"

Skye shrugged, looking clueless. Good, I'd gotten her away from her suspicions. "That's what I thought."

"You think Mira has more people on her side than we thought?"

"Could be."

Another beep.

I had to give myself credit; I wasn't a bad liar. Not that I hadn't ever lied before. There were a bunch of times where I had to worm myself out of things, like the time Dad almost caught me going off to see Kara back in 2149 a few years back. I told him I was going to go check some thing that I don't remember. But it worked. Nowadays, though, Dad was on to me constantly. The more you lie, the harder it gets.

_Beep._

"That's getting on my nerves," I said impatiently. "Couldn't they have designed a better machine back in the future that stopped the beeping?"

Skye gave a quiet laugh.

_Beep._

I frowned. "Hey, is it supposed to be beeping that often?"

"You tell me, your mom's the doctor," Skye answered playfully.

I smiled. "Yeah, I'm not interested in what she does."

Then came a new voice. "Who are you guys?"

I looked back at the girl, startled. Firstly, I hadn't expected her to wake up with us there. Secondly, she didn't look like someone that would have an English accent.

_I wish I wasn't here right now,_ I thought to myself. "We were just leaving, sorry-"

Skye stopped me short. "Josh!"

I shut my mouth, sighing. "Sorry. This is Skye." I gestured to Skye. "Now we're leaving."

The girl stared at me as Skye repeated, "Josh!"

"And I'm Josh, you'll be staying at our house to recover. _Now_ we're going." I glanced over at Skye, trying to signal with my eyes for her to come with me.

"Rude," the girl said.

My eyes found her again. "What?"

"I said 'rude'. You're rude. I'm just asking who you are."

I blinked, unable to think up anything to say except, "Uh… oh."

I felt Skye's touch on my arm, driving me a few steps back. She moved in front of me. "You'll have to excuse Josh," she apologized. "He's just kind of mad about some things right now. Once you get to know him, he really isn't such a bad guy."

The girl just rolled her eyes.

Skye cleared her throat. "Anyways, is this the first time you've been up since the attack?"

"How do you know about that?" the injured girl asked.

"Everyone knows," I said flatly, still annoyed with the whole 'rude' thing. "It's big news."

She frowned, pausing to cough. "Ouch- oh. So people here found me and now I'm going to be staying at your house." It was more of a statement than a question, but I nodded my head anyways. She fell silent, contemplating the idea.

After a few moments, Skye spoke again. "Anyways… you'll like it here."

"When am I supposed to leave?"

Skye paused. "Leave the hospital?"

The girl gave a small nod of her head.

"You'll have to ask Mom," I said. She shot a confused look at me, and I continued. "She's the doctor that's been treating you. She'll know."

That was when Mom showed up again. The question I was going to ask her was still nagging at me, but I sure wasn't going to ask it with that girl around.

"Good afternoon," Mom said, walking over to the girl and pressing a few things. A transparent screen popped up and hovered over the girl, showing all of her vital signs, information, and other stuff that I had absolutely no clue about. "Finally awake?"

"How long was I asleep?" asked the girl.

Mom prodded at the air, checking up on everything. Her voice sounded distant, meaning she was distracted with her work as always. "Oh, not as long as you probably think, sweetie; only about a day and a half. You did take a rather nasty blow to your face and midsection, though, but we fixed those right up." She smiled at the girl optimistically.

_Just wait 'til you find out how cheeky she really is,_ I thought resentfully, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. I half-expected the girl to say something stupid, like 'I don't care', but she didn't. What a surprise. Instead, she smiled back at her.

_Fake. Fake, so fake._

Her tone was sweet. "Thank you, Doctor…"

_FAKE._

"Doctor Shannon, sweetheart. But you can call me Mrs. Shannon."

"Thank you Mrs. Shannon. Um… Josh told me you were taking me in?"

Mom clicked off of the screen, looking down at the girl. "For the time being, yes. You should be good to go by tonight, so I can take you home."

"Thanks," the girl said. 'Fake' was still running through my head every time I heard her voice. I glanced over at Skye, but she looked just as convinced that the girl was nice. I still didn't like her. Actually, I was still convinced that she could be a spy. Which she probably was, considering how unconvincing she looked. I swear, I would never be able to like that girl.

I was still thinking myself into a rage when Mom turned to me. "Josh, could you get something for me?"

"No," I answered dully, "I was just going anyways." I took a step towards the door so that I could at least try to look like I really was, which I wasn't. Skye did the same, and I silently prayed Mom would let us go.

But of course she wouldn't. "Josh."

Her piercing look broke my façade, and I looked away. "Sure, whatever Mom."

"Good. I need you to get something from the storage. It's just down the infirmary to your left. It'll be a bag labeled 'Panacea Drug'. You'll find it, it's not that hard to see."

"Alright, Mom." I turned and left the room, Skye following after me.

"I just can't believe she actually _likes _her," I said once we were out of earshot. Skye wove through the staff to keep up with me.

"Oh, come on," she said, "she's funny. You can't honestly hate her, can you?"

"Yes I can," I answered, turning the corner. I wandered into the storage area.

"Found it," Skye said, pulling a bag off of one of the shelves.

"That was, like, two seconds, no way." I took the bag, reading the label. _Panacea Drug._ I looked back at her. "How did you know where that was?"

"I've been here before, Josh," she answered smartly, backing into the hallway. "It's not like your mom hasn't asked me to find things before."

"Well _sorry_ for not knowing everything," I said, a grin sneaking onto my face.

"You're forgiven."

I shook my head, laughing and heading back for the room. I handed the bag to Mom.

"Thank you, Josh. Now you can go." She took the bag, turning and refilling one that was connected to the girl.

"Thanks a lot, Doctor Shannon," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Good to see you, Mrs. Shannon," Skye said, smiling faintly and backing for the door. I turned to leave.

"Hey, say goodbye to me, jerk."

I looked back at the girl, ticked off. "I don't even know your name, and I'm in a hurry."

"You coulda still said 'G'bye, hospital girl', but you're too good for that, right?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was about to go off on her, but a look from Mom shut me up. Man, I hated that she was there, because if she wasn't-

"Say goodbye, Josh," said Skye.

"Goodbye, hospital girl!" I said loudly, and promptly left the room.

"_That's 'Alice' to you, jerk!"_


	4. End

_Ugh, I'm sorry. I can't finish this story. I have no inspiration left and some things came up involving this story that I'm never going to get past. I also can't think of what to write for it._

_I'm sorry to everyone who's been waiting for the next chapter. I just don't want to continue this. ):_

_Anyone is able to use this themselves though. I'd like to see if anyone likes it so much that they want to continue. LMAO._

_Sorry. /3 _

_It's hard for me to stop this too. Thanks to everyone who liked it…_


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